first 5 gallon batch of mead

i recently started my first batch of mead. 5 gallons, using the wyeast sweet mead blend. original gravity reading was 1.14 [that's if i'm reading this thing correctly... it was 2 ticks below the 1.100 mark. i'm new ].
nothing happening by 72hrs [last night], so i re-pitched with a wyeast dry mead blend.
less than 24 hours later [this evening] it has started bubbling, yes! every 15-20 seconds.
now i am wondering if it would be a bad idea to split this ferment into a few smaller batches when i go to rack it, so i can experiment with some flavor variations, as well as what the best/safest way to do this might be. otherwise i'll go straight into a 5 gal carboy and let it ride.
any feedback and/or tips are welcome and appreciated.
thanks!
[actually a little more than 5 gal's: i used 16lbs of honey and 4 4liter bottles of water, with 5 campden tablets 24 hours before pitching the first package of yeast.]

krecneps said:

...original gravity reading was 1.14 [that's if i'm reading this thing correctly... it was 2 ticks below the 1.100 mark...

Click to expand...

oops, make that reading 1.104.

If I was doing it, I would monitor the gravity to let it get very close to your target FG, crash cool to make the yeast floc as best you can, clean/sanitize some gallon jugs, backfill the jugs with CO2, add the appropriate amount of K-sorbate & K-meta for 1 gallon jugs, put your experimental ingredients in the jugs, and rack over your finished mead leaving no headspace. Then wait again.

Just curious, are you doing the staggered nutrient additions (SNA) and degassing the CO2? What temp are you fermenting?

still pretty new to this whole realm, haven't looked into the staggered nutrient method, but i will read up on that. also not sure about degassing, but i will also check into that. temp is at 70 degrees, F.
i think that since i have basically zero experience with this process so far, i am going to just stick with this 5 gal basic mead, and do some flavor experimenting later with a some smaller individual batches.
thanks for the input!

did my first batch 1.5 years ago with no info.. too hot ferm and lots of fusel alcohols (honey flavored jetfuel LOL)

get Ken Schramm's book or listne to the Jamil show on meads

good way to start.

so it's been bubbling for about 24 hours now, but it is still only about once every 15 to 20 seconds. it seems like it would have picked up a bit by now [48hrs after pitching the 2nd pack of yeast]. is this abnormal, or should i just give it a little more time?
if i were to pitch one more pack of wyeast, would that be a bad idea?

also, i have read some different info about fermenting: some say to pay a lot of attention, take reading, stir must, etc., while others say to pitch yeast, secure the lid and airlock, and let it go for a couple weeks undisturbed.
i'm wondering which route to take.

man, between the material i read and the tutorials i watched i thought i had it all straight, but now i feel like i have no idea what i'm doing. could it be me or the yeast i'm using?
any advice?
thanks y'all.

Nutrient additions are your best friend. if you have a local homebrew store-go pick up some nitrogen-based nutrients. these additions will make sure the yeast keep going strong the whole time.
As for the different methods, I like to degas (stir) everytime I put in nutrients. Just make sure you don't stir too vigorously-the mead can fizz up and spill over.

also, for future reference, i would have either made a yeast starter or waited a couple more days before pitching the second pack. It can take a while for them to get started when you simply pour in a smack pack.

just out of curiosity, what kind of honey did you use (and how much)?

i used 16 lbs of honey: 11 lbs of it was a "light amber, natural bee honey", and 5 lbs of it was a "natural wildflower honey." i bought these before i realized the local homebrew shop actually carried honey.

i popped it open last night, and stirred it for few minutes.
i was really just trying to give a good blast of oxygen, but now i know that's also called degassing. i stirred vigorously, until it stopped foaming- it seemed like the logical thing to do. yes, it got nice and foamy and almost spilled over.

one thing i noticed last night when i opened it up: i checked the gravity and it was at 1.110! how does that happen? shouldn't it have gone down, not up?
after i degassed, i checked again and it was back down, closer to the initial gravity reading of 1.104. maybe the carbon in the mix was pushing the hydrometer upward a little?

i was under the impression that i would not need extra nutrient, since the "smack pack" comes with the nutrient packet inside. but i will definitely head over to the homebrew shop and pick up some goodies today. any recommendations?

thanks for the feedback.

Honey is a nutrient desert. Get some Fermaid K and/or Diammonium Phosphate (DAP).
CO2 coming out of solution can cause the hydrometer to rise.

quick update...
i went to my local homebrew shop and grabbed a "mead blend" of nutrients and acids, dissolved it in some warm water and added it to the must. within 2 hours [now] it was bubbling every 15 seconds.
should have done this to begin with.
i also picked up some nutrient and energizer [brewcraft] to be on the safe side, for future use.
thanks again for the nutrient tip.

just curious...
at what point should i stop degassing? it's just about at the mid-point of the ferment now, and i don't really want to upset it too much. wondering when i should stop degassing to just let it ride.
thanks.

Let it ride! This is mead, not beer! If you wanted quick results you would have made beer! Just learn from your mistakes and your next batch will be better and easier to make! My first batch last spring took at least three months to ferment and its still bulk aging at this time! Its mead, dont rush it!

thanks for the tip.
i had planned on the long haul from the beginning, and i'm by no means in any hurry. it's just my first run and i had read some stuff on degassing but nothing really on when to stop degassing during the ferment. i just want to make sure i'm treatin it right so it gets the full ferment.
but i'll just let it go from here, i s'pose, and rack into a carboy when it's ready.
thanks, beebe.

Its good to see that your injoying your first time making mead. The important thing is to just let the yeast do its thing, they will get the job done. Somthing to think about, this is your first batch! I know that i loved how my first batch turned out, i only have 6 of those bottle left if i could do it agian i would have doubled that batch lol. but for me it was the excitment of weither or not it would turn out, or if i was doing it right. After that first year of letting it age, to pop that cork there wont be another batch like it.

yeah, it's definitely been a pretty fun and interesting experience so far. i'll probably do a few things a little differently next time, but i think it's moving along okay, and i'm sure it'll turn out pretty good in the long run. part of the appeal is the idea of just closing the lid and letting it do it's thing, without meddling with the process too much. i've read so many different ways, it's almost like i need to just find my own individual method, or style. i like the more artistic / less scientific approach, and the magic of letting it go on its own, but i also want to help the honey and yeast produce some good results. i guess i fall somewhere in between. a little nurturing, as apposed to micromanagement.
thanks for the thoughts, and input, much appreciated.

just curious did you boil your honey or boil the water and then add the honey and then mix at lower than boiling. DEGASSING ... this is what I know getting the fermentation started is directly associated with degassing. I've done 100% mixes of buckwheat,Fireweed, and Wildflower that I degassed and also did not degass ( 3 five gal batches before I ever read about oxygenating or shaking my bottle prior to and during pitching ) and three after... HUGE difference in starting of fermentation... not so sure about difference in taste or time in primary ( stil have 2 of three that I degassed in the primary) with the exception of the fireweed which finished dry ( I dont use a hydrometer I just wine thief that nectar and then put in secondary and it's clearing nicely with no sulfites!

i didnt boil, i used campden tablets. so everything was basically at room temp when i mixed and pitched. it seems going along fine, after i pitched that second wyeast pack, and added some nutrient a few days later. not bubbling rapidly, but steadily every few seconds. by the hydrometer reading, i'm about halfway through the primary ferment. i'm just going to let it do its thing now. when it slows enough i'll rack into a carboy and let it sit.
thanks for comments. i'll definitely be refining my starting process a bit for the next batch. cheers!

i think my main, most recent concern, was when to stop degassing during the primary. i know when racking, you're supposed to have next to no oxygen contact, so i fgued you would want to stop stirring things around before then. i'll just call it good for now and let it go, probably another couple weeks until it stops, then rack it into the carboy.